Conor McGregor dominates UFC Fight Pass, Rousey oddly absent
Dana White: “I’ve been telling everyone this, but maybe this will give me evidence to back up what I’ve been saying, and that is that Conor McGregor is a huge star.”
Conor McGregor @TheNotoriousMMA
4 fights in and I own the game.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole reached out to the team running UFC Fight Pass, and received information on the most popular fights and fighters on the service. There were some surprises…
Top 10 most-watched fights:
1. Jon Jones-Alexander Gustafsson, Sept. 21, 2013, Toronto, UFC 165
2. Gilbert Melendez-Diego Sanchez, Oct. 19, 2013, Houston, UFC 166
3. Anderson Silva-Chris Weidman, July 6, 2013, Las Vegas, UFC 162
4. Georges St-Pierre-Johny Hendricks, Nov. 16, 2013, Las Vegas, UFC 167
5. Benson Henderson-Anthony Pettis II, Aug. 31, 2013, Milwaukee, Wisc., UFC 164
6. Conor McGregor-Max Holloway, Aug. 17, 2013, Boston, UFC FIght Night 26
7. Cain Velasquez-Junior dos Santos III, Oct. 19, 2013, Houston, UFC 166
8. Benson Henderson-Rustam Khabilov, June 7, 2014, Albuquerque, N.M., UFC Fight Night 42
9. Conor McGregor-Marcus Brimage, April 6, 2013, Stockholm, Sweden, UFC Sweden 2
10. Johny Hendricks-Carlos Condit, March 16, 2013, Montreal, UFC 158
Most searched for fighters:
1. Conor McGregor
2. Jon Jones
3. Nick Diaz
4. Anderson Silva
5. T.J. Dillashaw
6. Daniel Cormier
7. Rory MacDonald
8. Ronda Rousey
9. Mark Hunt
10. Cain Velasquez
Most watched non-UFC fights:
1. Nick Diaz-Paul Daley, April 9, 2011, San Diego, Calif., Strikeforce
2. Benson Henderson-Anthony Pettis I, Dec. 16, 2010, Glendale, Ariz., WEC 53
3. Fedor Emelianenko-Mirko FIlipovic, Aug. 28, 2005, Saitama, Japan, PRIDE
4. Nick Diaz-Takanori Gomi, Feb. 24, 2007, Las Vegas, PRIDE
5. Nick Diaz-Frank Shamrock, April 11, 2009, San Jose, Calif., Strikeforce
6. Fedor Emelianenko-Mark Hunt, Dec. 31, 2006, Saitama, Japan, PRIDE
7. Fedor Emelianenko-Kevin Randleman, June 20, 2004, Saitama, Japan, PRIDE
8. Fedor Emelianenko-Mark Coleman I, April 25, 2004, Saitama, Japan, PRIDE
9. Urijah Faber-Jose Aldo, April 24, 2010, Sacramento, Calif., WEC 48
10. Fedor Emelianenko-Kazuyuki Fujita, June 8, 2003, Yokohama, Japan, PRIDE
The biggest surprises on the list are the absence of older fights, and the names that built the sport. No UFC fight prior to March 16, 2013 made the top-10. No Chuck Liddell, no Randy Couture, no Tito Ortiz. Also notable in absence was any fights by Ronda Rousey. And Conor McGregor dominated the service, as the #1 most searched for fighter, and two fights in the top 10, when only three of his fights were available.
“I’ve been telling everyone this, but maybe this will give me evidence to back up what I’ve been saying, and that is that Conor McGregor is a huge star,” said UFC president White. “People are interested in what he’s doing, they want to see him fight and they’re going to FightPass to check him out.”
